


Nia knows and CatCo polls

by Rykeral



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humour, Nia POV, Supercorp through Nia's eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rykeral/pseuds/Rykeral
Summary: It starts with Nia, a poll, and a work-out video.Or:Nia Nal decides to enlist the internet in getting Supergirl and Lena Luthor together, or even better, Lena and Kara. It was her duty as friend and ally to make the two oblivious women aware of their feelings for each other, and get them together damn it because there was only so much pining she could take!
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 84
Kudos: 875





	Nia knows and CatCo polls

**Author's Note:**

> This is SC from Nia's POV. Also, much thanks to Mizhuin for the glorious art that helped inspire this- Mizhuin on Tumblr/Insta- CHECK OUT HER ART! And thanks to Mssirey for Beta-ing :)

It starts with Nia, their youngest up-and-coming reporter at CatCo. She had been first, perhaps by want of millennial obsession with polls and Tik-Toks and Vines and Meme’s, and their social media, to flourish under CatCo’s new digital direction.

It was a new era. The days of hitting the beat and hunting down a story were over, and instead, unless they wanted to follow the titanic they needed a new direction. That direction was digital media. Taking on a business model similar to Buzzfeed. Selling the ‘Top 10 most photogenic hamsters’ or celebrities best looks, followed by soft-news articles that millennials and the gen-xers adored, which allowed them to push more important news stories. It was a delicate balance between gathering enough revenue to afford high-profile journalists, selling the less hard-hitting stories and delivering on their content, and then delivering on the world-altering stories.

Unfortunately for the new owner of Catco, most of her employees weren’t so keen on the new business model. The newest and youngest of them, however, had delighted at the chance.

Nia had written several articles a day on traditionally useless subjects, ones scoffed at by the old-guard, ones that drew clicks from the bored denizens of the internet, rather than hard-hitting stories.

Kara was struggling, having to turn away from things that she thought mattered in order to keep her job, it was hard for the Pulitzer winner to write about things she didn’t believe in. The older reporters were struggling as well, but the young ones, the new ones, didn’t have the prejudices of the old guard, and also had grown up reading those articles, cooing over the animals, smiling at the baby photos, and laughing over predictive text fails.

And on this particular day, Nia was scrolling through the cess-pool that was the internet and saw an article by the Daily Planet throwing shade at some of the new heroes of Earth. Considering there were now a multitude of them, it struck her as unfair but she kept scrolling, no need to give the enemy her viewership, but it did raise an important question.

Who, of all Earth’s champions, was the mightiest? A quick google-search led her nowhere, with each article promoting their own hero, or slamming another city's hero, so it really depended on who she was looking for.

Then, it occurred to her, why not ask the masses? Surely the denizens of Earth Prime could help her come up with an answer? And surely some local heroes had made international fame, and so a winner could be sought?

Decision made she checked in with Snapper to make sure she could run the article. He waved her off, not interested in puff pieces that weren’t real journalism, and she scurried away, taking a non-answer as an affirmative.

It took her the better part of an hour to research some worthy heroes for her poll, and a little more sleuthing to determine what traits made a hero, a hero. She wanted to give the public something to grade them on, something to weigh their favourite hero against and decide if they were truly the best. She tilted her article, ‘What makes a hero?’

As a follow up she borrowed CatCo’s social media platforms and ran her article in the link, while also setting up her polls. She did her research and made small profiles of each hero, as further inspiration for the public to choose which hero was the best, and she even included Dreamer, Guardian, and the Martian Man-hunter. It didn’t hurt to offer the public more options, but she suspected it would end up between Supergirl, Green Arrow, The Flash, Superman, Batman, WonderWoman, Batwoman, and Black Lightning.

She ended up with a dozen or so heroes, some with powers, and some with fancy suits and gadgets. A few were more of the side-kick placement, and she resolved to, if this was successful, make another poll on the side-kicks, to shine a light on what they did to help their cities.

She gave the poll seventy-two hours, and sat back, feeling contented with her work for the day.

~*~

To precisely no-ones surprise, Superman came in the top, followed by Batman and then Supergirl. The other heroes were respected and appreciated, but not as much as those three. Superman represented everything the people wanted to be, a symbol of America. Batman gained second place for his grit and willingness to do what needed to be done when the system wouldn’t, and Supergirl had much the same fame as her cousin, though hers was considered to be more naive than Kal El’s.

Her article gained a lot of attention, as did her profiles on the heroes, and many people were calling for another poll. Nia, encouraged by her new boss Andrea, did as requested and came up with another poll. This one a little more…. primal than the first, on account of many responses claiming they’d voted for Superman on account of how attractive he was…. And so the ‘Hottest Hero’ poll was born.

To assist her readers in picking which of their idols was the hottest of them all, Nia had _reluctantly_ delved through the internet for the best photos of the heroes in action. It was on days like this that she had loved her job, because she got paid to stare at Superman’s ridiculously sculpted abs and decide which was the most drool worthy. The other heroes were treated to the same, and there really were some fit and fine individuals out there, and thank the gods for the internet and cameras, because there were many to choose from. She even playfully captioned them.

Superman: We call him the man of steel, but I think those abs are rock hard.

Batman: Who wouldn’t want to go on a date with this vigilant-tea?

Supergirl: What does Supergirl have in her lemonade? Just ice!

And, well, maybe she wouldn’t add captions….

It was before lunch when she posted her next poll, with full support and approval from the CatCo social media team, and she decided she’d be able to sneak away for the rest of the day and do some ‘heroing’ herself.

There wasn’t much criminal activity out in the streets so she turned to the DEO after stopping a mugging and helping run down a purse thief.

The DEO was fairly empty and she was bored, so she went looking for someone to talk to and habit led her past the training rooms.

Kara was there attacking a punching bag and her form was…. On point. She wasn’t in her suit, instead she was wearing sweatpants and a grey shirt with the Supergirl logo on it.

“Hey,” she commented as Nia entered and slammed a few quick jabs into the bag. Fortunately, it was reinforced and didn’t give too much under her power.

“What ya doing?” It was always odd to see Kara, or Supergirl, working out. She didn’t need to, her body was perfect regardless of what she ate or how much she exercised, but she did like to work on her form. Nia had seen some of the training Alex had put her through under the Kryptonite emitters and knew that Kara needed to work more on fighting someone who she didn’t automatically over-power. It was always amusing to watch the most powerful being in the world get her butt handed to her by her elder sister. Nia wasn’t so stupid as to enter a ring with Alex herself, but had agreed to let the agent teach her a few self-defence moves, just in case.

“Alex said my form was sloppy,” and the blonde was pouting as she said it, lining up and delivering another jab to the bag. “She said I wasn’t allowed any donuts until she was sure I was fighting properly.”

And Nia couldn’t disagree. Kara cheated, in everything she did, or somehow it seemed like she did. She was an alien yet she was more accepted than Nia herself, and could do incredible things without even trying. Nia understood how people like Lex Luthor and Maxwell Lord could be driven to acts of madness in their jealousy, she was jealous too, but only of what they had been given, not of who they were. Kara, of all people, deserved all of the good things, and really, if someone on earth got powers, she was glad it was the sweet natured blonde. Heaven forbid if someone like Lex had been granted god-like powers.

“You did get your ass handed to you last week,” Nia pointed out, taking a seat on one of the exercise benches and digging out her phone. Kara pouted at her, not liking the reminder, and Nia shrugged.

The Super’s were so used to being superior in every way, that when they faced someone who was as smart and as fast and as invulnerable, they rightly got their asses kicked. It wasn’t really their fault, but it was an oversight. They had no finesse, and only brawled when it came down to it. Kara, at least, had Alex to properly train her. She was pretty sure that Kal El had been beaten up by Wonder Woman and even Batman before he agreed that maybe he should learn how to throw a punch properly. The reporter in her would have killed to see some of that footage. They were arrogant by their nature, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I saw your article,” Kara commented and she tilted her body into a kick. “An interesting choice.”

Nia looked up from her phone and frowned. It almost sounded like Kara didn’t approve, but the blonde didn’t say anything further on the matter. Still, Nia felt like she had to explain herself.

“Now that we are all on one Earth, I figured it was an honest question. I didn’t expect it to blow up like it did,” she admitted with a shrug.

“My latest poll is which hero is the hottest,” she said with a little laugh as Kara hit the bag with a series of powerful jabs. “You’re on there.”

And Kara’s hand went through the bag. She stared at it a moment before stepping back with a wince.

“Oops.”

Kara looked at her and raised a brow, reminiscent of a certain brunette CEO she spent a lot of time with, but Lena pulled the look off much better.

“So, I’m on the hottest hero poll?” She sounded sceptical and scratched her head, it made her shirt rise and Nia suddenly had an idea.

“Yup. Wanna send a video to your fans?” And she was grinning as her idea developed.

Kara was an attractive woman, and Supergirl was looking very dishevelled, and while Kara usually didn’t broadcast her body, she was very fit. And Nia had a devious idea. Most of the internet was frothing over Superman, as they were wont to do, but! Kara was his cousin, and she was attracting votes mostly because of her short skirt, but maybe, just maybe, her abs could help her case.

Now, Nia didn’t believe in using her friends, but, well, “Do you want to win? Your cousin has the most votes.”

A familiar fire ignited in Kara’s eyes and Nia knew she had her friend. There was a friendly family rivalry between the two supers. In most instances Kal El came out on top because he was a man and had been around longer, but Nia liked Kara better, and that wasn’t just because she was her friend.

“What do you want me to do?” There wasn’t even suspicion in Kara’s tone, and Nia hesitated. She didn’t want to do anything Kara wasn’t comfortable with.

“Just a video,” she held up her phone. “Maybe of you bench pressing or something?”

Kara’s enthusiasm slipped a little and she looked unsure. Nia lowered her phone.

“You don’t have to!” She was quick to assure her friend and cursed herself, because while it was all in good fun, it was only fun if both parties agreed it was.

“Its just that, there isn’t many um, sexy photos of you? Or at least not, like, -“ and she was quick to backtrack because it wasn’t about being sexy, though according to the internet it was, “its just that Superman’s suit has, like, muscles,” Nia finished, waving her hand across the air in the general height of Superman’s abs.

“They’re really, really nice,” she finished with a helpless shrug and Kara frowned at her.

“That’s my baby cousin you’re talking about.” She wasn’t looking unhappy now, she was looking contemplative, and Nia thought that maybe she could talk Kara into it.

“And as eldest, you should have the better abs, right?” Nia shot back, just as fast and saw a familiar, determined light re-enter Kara’s eyes.

“You’re right. I’m stronger, and faster!”

“That’s the spirit!” Nia gave a little cheer. “So how do you want to do this? Did you want to go get the suit or-no, like this is better,” she decided, giving Kara a once over.

“So how do we do this?” Kara asked, stepping away from the punching bag and popping up in front of Nia.

The hero glanced around the gym space and decided that it simply wouldn’t do. It was mostly used for combat training, or experimental training for the supe-powered heroes, the actual DEO gym would provide more inspiration.

“Come on,” she said and trotted from the room, Kara striding along behind her looking a little bemused.

The DEO gym functioned precisely like a gym on the outside, only it was much, much bigger, and everyone in the room was a trained killer. Well, not that they were trained to be killers, they were, but they were trained to protect first. It just so happened that they could kill with a range of weapons and their body as well.

A few agents were milling around, some at the bench press and others in the sparring ring or on a treadmill, and Nia looked around for inspiration, Kara a little hesitant behind her.

Ah ha! Nia thought, zeroing in on an arch and grinning. Oh, this was going to be good! And, if it helped Kara get over herself just a little bit, then it was worth it. This was going to drive the people of National City jealous.

“Come on,” she reached behind her to tug Kara further into the room.

Her destination was a set of vertical bars with upright hooks set into the side. The bars were bolted into the wall, and there was a pole across the bottom rung for the user to hold, and either do pull ups or, climb each rung using the pole and their body strength.

“No powers,” she warned Kara as they got closer and Kara eyed the bar.

“I’ve seen Oliver use one of these,” she said and was looking it up and down. “He always did his shirtless… ”

“From what I’ve seen, he’d earnt the right to show it off.” Nia said and she read the instructions for the machine to make sure she understood how to use it safely before turning to Kara.

“Lena said the same,” Kara commented, still looking up at the machine and Nia paused before shaking the thought off.

“Right! Up you get!”

Kara glanced at the salmon ladder and slowly edged under it, turning to face Nia. The bar was a little above her head and she slowly stretched up to grab it, her shirt riding up and exposing a sliver of bronzed skin and the hint of abs.

Excellent.

Nia held up her phone, and making sure there was nothing identifiable in the picture, nodded for Kara to go ahead.

Giving a little half shrug, that was only capable because she was an alien, Kara focused and then pulled.

Nia got it all.

The ripple of her shoulders as she started, the tensing of her bicep as her strength passed into her arms, the jerk of her lower half as she used her strength to lift herself to the next rung. And of course, Supergirl could do it without practice, make it look stupidly easy.

Kara made it to the top, hung there a moment with one hand and then gifted Nia with a little wave. Then she spun around, her back to Nia, and made her way back down the stairs.

She landed with a little thud and turned to face Nia with a little, happy grin and a little wave.

Nia turned her camera into selfie mode and ducked into the shot, grinning at the screen as Kara came up behind her.

“Take that, Superman!” Nia gave a little cheer. “Us girls have gotta stick together! #SupergirlisHottest!”

She ended the video and pressed play, Kara’s heat obvious behind her.

The video was… it was gonna get a lot of traffic, Nia was sure, but she made sure Kara was okay with it being posted before she sent it out to the world, making sure it was from her Dreamer account and not her private account.

She would have plugged CatCo, or even Nia Nal, but she wasn’t so stupid as to link her Dreamer identity to her private identity, especially on social media. Someone was sure to pick up the hashtag and her own post, and link it back to CatCo anyway.

Satisfied she tucked her phone away, in time to see Kara tilting her head and clearly listening in before brightening.

“Lena’s here! And she brought donuts!”

And Nia was left alone in the gym with sweaty bodies and the rhythmic footfall of the treadmill and the patterned strikes against a punching bag.

Nia thought that maybe donuts were a good idea and hoped Lena had brought enough to share, and that Kara hadn’t eaten them all. So she quickly made her way to the central command and was rewarded with something surprisingly expected.

Lena was there, duh, and she was wearing a three-piece suit that Nia knew Kara loved to gush about, and she had the foretold donuts. But what was something else, was how the two were standing.

The split between them had been hard, and while Nia wasn’t well read on the details, she knew it had been difficult for them both. She was firmly on Kara’s side, on Supergirl’s side, but that didn’t mean she didn’t see where Lena was coming from, and Nia knew, that if Lena Luthor wanted the world to hurt, wanted to hurt Supergirl, she’d do it, and no one would be able to stop her. Lena had the ability to set the world on fire and watch it burn, but she never gave any indication of it, instead, standing next to Kara, it looked like it was the furthest thought on her mind.

The DEO agents had already helped themselves to some of the donuts Lena had brought, and Kara had a box to herself, scowling at anyone who came near her and pulling it closer to her as though they’d steal them.

She wasn’t sure what it was that made her pause, maybe a series of clues that all clicked into place, or maybe it was the way they were standing, closed off to the world but open to each other.

“Hey, Lena,” she greeted as she got closer and Lena turned her attention from Kara to smile a greeting at her. Kara happily took a bite of her donut and shifted to face Nia as well, body more open than before but tuned to Lena, as though Lena were magnetic and Kara would fall in and out of her orbit.

“I saw your article, Andrea will be pleased.”

Nia gave a little bashful shrug. Having Lena Luthor’s attention was a bit like having Supergirl’s attention. You knew that they were the most powerful and important person in the room and it made you feel powerful to be given even a moment of their time, it made you feel worthy.

“Did you see the latest poll?” She asked and settled against the console nearby as Kara took another massive bite of her donut, getting frosting over her face.

Lean tilted her head. “No, I haven’t?”

Nia grinned and dug out her phone. “Who is the hottest hero in the world?” She asked and brought her social media up, making sure to log in as Nia Nal.

Lena flicked a glance to Kara, that Nia didn’t miss, mostly because she was looking for it, and something else fell into her clue pile. She just had to put them all together and figure this out.

“Yeah. We are trying to figure out who is the hottest hero. Superman is winning so-oh,” she cut herself off with a grin, finally looking at the latest stats.

“What?” Kara’s voice was a little muffled through her donut and she had to guide some more of it into her mouth with a finger.

“Guess who just took the lead?” And she turned her phone to show Kara and Lena the latest stats. Kara’s eyes bugged but Lena just looked thoroughly amused.

“Guess the world thinks you’re pretty hot, Kara Danvers,” Lena nudged Kara, who flushed and lifted her hand as though to push her glasses up her nose before remembering she was at the DEO and out of her civilian clothing.

She was still in her gym gear, looking like a freaking exercise model which was so not fair because she was chowing down on a third, fourth? Donut.

Nia took her phone back and tapped around a few times, reposting the video Dreamer had shared and adding a few tags to it, promoting CatCo and the poll.

“Supergirl did an exercise video. Wanna see?”

And she was already turning the phone to Lena, who was leaning forward with interest while Kara flushed.

“Oh,” Lena breathed, eyes wide as she took in the video and Nia was smug on Kara’s behalf, getting Lena to lose her composure was always a hard-won fight. And apparently all she needed was a video of Supergirl’s shoulders and abs. Who would have guessed?

Certainly not Nia.

“Well,” Lena said after the video had finished, licking her teeth. “Hashtag Supergirlishottest indeed.”

Kara went red and nearly spluttered and then stuffed a donut into her mouth and started to chew.

“Who knew there were those muscles under these clothes?” Lena asked, leaning closer and placing a hand on Kara’s bicep. Kara’s blush deepened, if that were even possible, and she nearly choked on her donut but it didn’t stop her cramming another bite into her mouth.

Lena was laughing as she straightened, and she flicked her gaze back at Nia.

“Good luck on the poll.”

Nia gave a little nod and leaned forward to see what kind of donuts were left in Kara’s box, only to have the box _whooshed_ away from her.

Kara glared at her, the box facing Lena and at the farthest point away from Nia as possible and she raised her hands peacefully. Kara’s donuts were not to be shared. Noted.

Kara’s gaze remained sharp and she gave a little satisfied nod when Nia backed off, and then she was back to her less scary self. Even in sweatpants and a gym shirt, Supergirl could be intimidating.

“I’ve got to go back to work, but I’ll see you later?” This was directed at Kara, who smiled and gave a little nod.

“Thanks for the donuts.”

“You’re welcome, darling,” Lena finished and placed a quick kiss on Kara’s cheek before turning her attention to the box of donuts.

Kara had gone still, a goofy, dazed smile crossing her face, and she didn’t comment when Lena picked out a donut and brought it to her lips.

“See you later,” she said, waggling her fingers and lifting her donut to her mouth.

Kara inhaled and let out a happy sigh, smiling dorkily after Lena and all the pieces of the puzzle in her lap fell into place. It was like one of those kids puzzles, the eight pieced jigsaw that even a toddler could put together, and now Nia had finally figured it out.

To be honest she hadn’t given in much thought before, to the idea of Kara and Lena being a thing.

They had always been the best of friends, always firmly on the other's team, and it made sense that their split had hurt them both. Kara had moped for months, and had then been eager to make Lena happy that she had done some questionable things, like flying to Lena’s favourite food places, and stealing Lex’s journals, to make them okay again. Lena had absolutely been manipulating her then, but…. Kara had almost deserved it in a way. She had treated Lena absolutely awfully, and Nia could admit that, even if everyone else had trouble seeing it. You don’t go to someone who is your best friend and then treat them terribly as another person, while pretending everything is fine. It was a fucking shitty thing to do, and it was no wonder that Lena had gone dark. She would have been able to tear Supergirl apart, but she hadn’t, which was a testament to Lena’s inner strength.

Now they were in a good place, they were closer than ever, and it had just been… right. Kara and Lena as friends made the world make sense, and they had been able to be closer because there was no more Super Secret between them with the lies and manipulation and abuse. Nia had never thought it could be more, or at least, hadn’t done more than flirt with the idea in the office betting pool. A Luthor and a Super? It would have been journalistic gold. But, that wasn’t Kara and Lena. They were just good friends, and that was it… only Nia had come to the startling conclusion that their story was far from the end. Because if Kara looked at anyone else (say William from the office) the way she stared at Lena then she’d need to change her bet in the CatCo Pool. Because she’d put money on the fact that Kara had a bit of a crush on her best friend.

It made sense.

These were the facts:

Kara kept her secret from Lena because she didn’t want to hurt her (further) with the secret, and then because she seemed to think that keeping Lena in the dark, (and wasn’t that the romantic plot line of like every single superhero story out there?!) would keep her safe. She was devastated by their breakup, more so than the loss of a friend, that she went against her own principles and even the law to make Lena happy. She broke down in Alex’s arms when she found out that Lena didn’t trust her anymore and was using her. Then she was angry and sad, smad (sad-mad) according to a Disney movie with a purple alien, when Lena decided to pick Lex- though Nia could see why. At least she knew to expect the abuse and manipulation from her bother, and she couldn’t exactly trust Kara at the time, now could she? The Devil you know and all that….

But now they were in a good place and Kara shared her donuts with Lena! Without even a disappointed look! Whereas when Nia had gone to have a look, just to look! (and maybe to grab one, but she wasn’t about to tell Kara that) Kara had curled protectively over her box and kept it out of reach, nearly growling at her. God! It was like a puppy refusing to share a toy but proudly giving it to their owner. And on that note, Kara perked up like a puppy whenever Lena was even mentioned. It was like someone going ‘squirrel!’ whenever Lena’s name was spoken, let alone how she just smiled at the CEO with heart-eyes whenever she was in the room.

Kara was screwed.

How had she not realised it so sooner?! She was meant to be aware of these things, to see the small and subtle schooling that a person did while out in public, she should have seen how Kara changed her behaviour around Lena. She did it herself, after all, carefully watching those around her so she knew how to alter her actions and reactions to better blend in.

Kara was not blending, not at all, in fact Nia didn’t think she was even aware that she should be trying to blend. She was so oblivious it was kinda sweet. But, then again, no one looking at Supergirl and Lena Luthor would ever suspect they were such close friends, and the people who would ship a Luthor and a Super for the drama of it, wouldn’t ship Lena and Supergirl. They’d ship Lex and Supergirl and Lena and Superman…. Which was…. Yup, she’d never get that thought out of her head for a while.

And anyone looking at Lena and Kara would only see friends, close friends, the best of friends….not the… more than friends they could be. Because she didn’t think they were at that stage just yet. Women were more tactile than men, tended to be freeer with their affection, even with same-sex couples. Society had given restrictions, as stupid as they could be, but women could get away with both more and less than men, and in this case, the easy and open affection between the two would only be read as being friends. Game Night’s would find them paired up together, and when Lena had had a few, she became increasingly tactile and snuggly- usually picking Kara as her person. Nia knew they had sleepovers and knew that when they were at Kara’s, they shared Kara’s bed because ‘the couch was fine to sit on but not to sleep on, and the bed was big enough for them both.’ They also touched each other more than anyone else, and sometimes held hands, but that was fine. Girls could do that, and they were best friends. But, Nia was pretty sure that even Alex, with her terrible gaydar, would be able to pinpoint Lena and Kara as being something more if they were actually more.

On that thought she glanced over at Alex at the console, nibbling on a donut, while a fresh-faced DEO recruit stared at her with stars in her eyes. Eh, so maybe Alex wouldn’t have been able to tell, her gaydar was a lil broken. But Kara would spill the secret before too long, she didn’t hide who she cared for, never kept her light to herself, never hid her emotions, and she’d never hide how happy Lena made her, not if they were dating.

Nia doubted it wasn’t mutual affection. Lena didn’t call anyone else by pet names, usually it was their first name or formal address. It had taken months for Lena to start calling her Nia, instead of Miss Nal, but that was just Lena. When she was in your corner, she was in your corner, but she didn’t quite know how to have other people in her own corner, so used to people keeping themselves at a distance. People’s childhoods shaped who they were, even if they could later learn to recognise abuse and neglect and manipulation for what it was when they were adults, it was a hard mold to break from.

So, if Lena cared for Kara like Kara cared for Lena, then it was her job as both a friend to them both and as a hero, to make sure they got their happily ever after. As her phone chimed in notification Nia let herself grin. And she knew just how to get the two oblivious idiots to confront the obvious. And the world was gonna help her do it.

~*~

After the rousing, pun _maybe_ intended (It really depended on who was answering, and Nia had made sure to filter some of _those_ comments out before Kara saw them) success of Supergirl’s workout video, and the amusing attempts by the rest of Earth’s heroes to follow suit, an idea had been born. It had taken a few weeks of convincing, but the moment Lena Luthor had gotten on board, (and really, Kara just rolled over for Lena) it was a go!

After her workout video had gone viral, and Supergirl won the HottestHero poll- because all of the women who loved women community had been _thirsty_ \- there had been calls for the hero to do a few more work-out videos. Nia was ever so happy to oblige, both because of the increase in popularity for both Supergirl and Dreamer, who sometimes featured but mostly got Supergirl to participate, and because it was part of her long-term plan to get Lena and Kara together.

Supergirl was young, hot, and famous. It meant she had a lot of followers, so Nia thought it could be a good idea to use her friends profile to talk about things that mattered, while getting Kara to workout in some revealing clothing, just so Lena could drool. But that was between Nia and Dreamer.

Nia had carefully set out a plan, work-out videos with a few heavier topics thrown in, along with abs to keep the people interested and coming back for more. So far it was fairly successful, if she didn’t say so herself.

Though she had quickly vetoed the idea of filming Supergirl running her 5k because there was no way Dreamer was going to be able to keep up with Supergirl, and she liked her yoga classes, thank you very much!

So far Supergirl had done three videos a week, with today's video being their tenth, so it was a bit of a milestone. She’d done squats, squatting with five-hundred kilos with ease and a little grin, and had lifted the entire weight rack with one hand, pulling her hero pose with her other arm. It had been fun, both for the two of them, and for the agents who occasionally featured in the videos.

They provided the work-out schedules for Kara and Nia filmed them. Occasionally she joined in on lunges or squats, but it was mostly the DEO head PT, Mark, who took Kara through her paces. She would always outdo him, but he never seemed to mind, and indeed, found it fun to try and get Supergirl to sweat.

Today they were doing burpees on a mat and Nia had made sure to mention to Lena that today was an important day, and that she should show up at the DEO at precisely eleven am and bring snacks. She had also convinced Kara that a sports bra with her family logo on the chest was totes appropes for a work-out video, even going so far to You-Tube other women in similar gear to convince her that it was how it was done. Kara was a little sceptical but had allowed it, and the black sports bra and tight pants was a lethal combination. Nia was a little sad that she had to be behind the camera so she wouldn’t see Lena’s reaction when she saw Kara, but it would be worth it.

Mark was in the middle of his burpees, Supergirl easily keeping up with him, and occasionally hovering in the air to pull a funny pose, before dropping back down into a press up. There was a little bit of super-speed being used, but it was funny to watch so Nia didn’t say anything.

From there the two went to ropes connected into the wall, and Nia had the thought that maybe they should make it harder for Kara at some point- they could go outside and get, like, ship anchor chains for her to do the exercise with. She might be affected by it then.

After that they did a circuit of bicep curls and they were in the middle of Mark lifting a bar of weights across his head while Kara watched when a hush descended over the room.

Well, not that it was audible, but you know when something happens and you just know that someone is there? That’s what happened. Kara turned instantly, and that was another clue, sharpening the playful and fun energy of the room into something more intense. And Nia knew instantly that Lena had arrived.

“I thought the purpose of these videos was for you to do the exercise, Supergirl,” she commented dryly from behind her and Nia turned around.

Lena had her hair down and was in black. From her boots, which probably cost more than Nia’s monthly rent, to her designer jeans and then to a black shirt, and a black leather jacket that Nia wanted. She was also wearing a smile, but that might have been because Kara had waved at her. And Nia was rewarded with the moment that Lena Luthor realised exactly what Supergirl was wearing, or wasn’t wearing.

Her face stilled and she paused in her walking, nearly tripping over her pretentious heels and Nia hid her laugh. Oh, yes. She’d keep this for blackmail later. The world wouldn’t get to see this part, but Nia would keep it for the wedding. Yes, she was that certain.

“You’re, um, did you rip your shirt?” Lena croaked out and Nia bit her lip to swallow her gleeful cackle. Kara shrugged, lifting an arm to scratch at her head and Lena gulped.

“No, um, Dreamer said it was what people did in these things,” Kara explained, looking less like Supergirl and looking a bit more like Kara Danvers.

“I see,” Lena said and she had gathered the tatters of her composure quickly. “Though I doubt these work-outs do much for you,” she said, running her eyes over Kara’s abs before quickly looking up at her eyes and making an effort to keep them there.

Nia tried not to giggle. Oh, yes. She was an evil genius.

Kara pouted while Mark placed his weights down and nodded in greeting, and Nia got back into her camerawoman position.

“They’re fun though. And exercise is good for humans,” Kara pointed out and she was smiling doopily at Lena, just happy to be in her presence, and Nia wanted to bang the two of their heads together and throw them into a room. The heart-eyes had to stop!

“This coming from a woman who eats ten pizzas in a sitting and lives on donuts?” Lena said dryly, placing her hands into her pockets and looking a little out of place in the gym, but not being affected by it. She would also be aware of the eyes on her, but made no mention of it. Lena probably thought it was because she was a Luthor, and not because she was probably the prettiest person in the room, and was wearing the most expensive outfit most of the DEO had ever seen in real life.

Kara clasped her hand to her chest in mock offence, drawing Lena’s eyes, and she darted them away again, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Nia nearly cackled again.

“Lena! How dare you imply that I don’t exercise!”

“I’ve seen you complain about it when you don’t have your powers,” Lena turned to the camera and gave a little smile. “She cheats.”

“I do not cheat!” Kara pouted behind her.

“None of this affects you, and you can eat whatever you want, usually not vegetables, and still look like a Greek statue,” Lena explained, and she wasn’t even upset about it. She actually sounded amused.

“I can exercise,” Kara was pouting again and Lena shook her head.

“You couldn’t stay away from sugar or carbs for a week, Supergirl.”

Kara placed her hands on her hips, staring down at Lena and the challenge was obvious. Internally Nia was gleeful, this was gold! She’d edit out the parts that weren’t appropriate, basically Lena ‘thirsting’ over Kara, but the rest of it was gonna go viral.

“I can too!”

Lena lifted an eyebrow in challenge and Kara went still, clearly reading something in Lena’s expression which was…. Not good for her.

“Alright,” Lena said slowly, her smile twisting into something dangerous and Kara gulped. “You stay away from pizza, take-out, ice-cream, any form of fast food, chocolate, ice-cream… um, any sort of junk food or fizzy food, and I’ll buy you…” she paused, head tilting. “What can I buy you?”

“Donuts,” Kara said instantly with a confident grin, already with glazed eyes thinking of the donuts she would eat.

“Alright. I’ll buy you Duke and Duchess Donuts.”

Kara was smugly happy before her brow furrowed. “Not, like, not like the entire store…. Right?”

Lena just hummed and she dug her phone out.

“Lena?!” Kara was looking a little alarmed now, but also excited at the prospect of donuts.

“I’ll tell you what,” Lena said and glanced up. “I’ll even provide all of your meals to make it easier, you’ll just have to cook them.”

“Psh,” Kara folded her arms and Lena’s eyes absolutely did not linger on them. “That’s easy.”

A slow, mischievous smile crept across Lena’s face. “You haven’t given me anything yet.”

“What do you want?” Kara asked, bouncing on her feet, and leaning forward eagerly. “Kal told me there are diamonds on Saturn, did you want one of those? Or! Ohhh, I know! I’ll ask if I can give you access to the Fortress! Or, um, “ Kara paused and frowned a little. “What do you want?”

Lena’s smile should have been a warning, should have sent Kara scurrying, but instead she was grinning blindly at the woman like she adored her.

“If you can’t go the entire week without eating something other than what I provide for you… you have to eat an entire platter of what I decide for one of your videos.”

Kara looked momentarily horrified, and then intrigued, and then disgusted again. “Kale?”

Lena didn’t reply, just smiled and Kara puffed her chest, hands on her hips.

“Agreed!”

Lena held out a hand for a shake and Kara chuckled and took it.

“I eat your food for a week, and you buy me as many Duke and Duchess Donuts as I can eat, and if I slip up, I have to eat all of your gross green food,” Kara finished, nose scrunching in disgust.

“Deal,” Lena practically purred, and Nia might have been concerned for Supergirl if she didn’t know better, because Lena was looking like she’d already won.

~*~

Supergirl puffed her hair from her face and turned with a big smile and a thumbs up to Nia, behind the camera. “And that!” She said dramatically, “Is the proper form for lifting a bus over your head!”

She was back in her sports bra and black full length pants, and was smiling at the camera with her hand on her hips. They, Dreamer and Supergirl, were at an abandoned lot with an old bus. It was day two of her eating Lena’s food, and she’d already complained about it numerous times. The rest of the world had caught wind of the Luthor vs Super rivalry, and most of the headlines had made it seem terrible, when it was a friendly bet placed by work colleagues.

Lena had to issue a statement, and Supergirl had to go on the record saying it was just for fun, but still. A few people thought that the Luthor and Super should be doing other things rather than playing around.

Lena had taken pictures of the food she was providing for Supergirl, mentioning a local eatery that’d be pairing up with the suppliers to provide free food for schools until the end of the year. A few cynics had pointed out the PR move of it, but Nia knew that Lena had given her bet some thought and then decided to do more good in the world. She was an angel like that.

So far Supergirl was…. Surviving, but to hear her complain, you wouldn’t believe it. Lena’s nutritionist and chef had made sure that the food Supergirl was eating was enough of a nutritional and caloric intake for her, and Lena had made Kara promise that if she needed to, she should eat what she needed to survive. A bet wasn’t worth her health. Kara had declined, saying she could do this, and wanted to eat her weight in donuts. Lena shrugged and let her carry on.

Personally, Nia didn’t think Kara would last, but the hero was determined. Most of the internet agreed with her. Supergirl was well-known for her appetite and sweet tooth, they didn’t think she’d make it.

“Now we are gonna…. We are gonna….is that chocolate?” She demanded suspiciously and Nia turned the camera quick enough to catch Lena’s innocent look as she bit into a familiar candy bar.

Lena had shown up earlier and made her way through the security to stand near-by. There were perks to being a Luthor, it was to be known, and she was unbearably smug as she munched on her chocolate. Nia didn’t think eating chocolate was supposed to be so sexy, but Lena was making it work.

Supergirl scowled and turned away, going back to picking up her bus. Nia was pretty sure she was going to bench press it next, and she turned the camera but cast a glance at Lena.

“Dreamer, did you want some? Since Supergirl isn’t hungry,” Lena added and Nia snorted. Supergirl was never not hungry and there were mumbled curses in Kryptonese from under the bus, which suddenly shot up, and then was lowered back down.

Lena chuckled darkly, and Nia accepted some of the chocolate. It was rich and sweet, seductive almost. It reminded her of the woman next to her. And Nia had a plan for her next poll to feature the Sexiest CEO’, and was pretty sure the woman next to her would be coming out on top.

~*~

Finding the hottest, most drool-worthy pictures of her former boss wasn’t the challenge it could have been. All Nia had to do was send out a cry for help and the internet had not disappointed. Lena Luthor was an asset to National City, emphasis on the ‘ass,’ as one commenter had said, sharing pictures of Lena in a three-piece navy suit that would definitely feature on Lena Luthor’s profile for the hottest CEO in the world.

And, oh how the pictures had come pouring in. For Supergirl, and indeed, the other heroes, finding the hottest pictures had been difficult as they all wore suits of some kind. And the only reason Supergirl had won the hottest hero poll, was in part due to her work-out video, showing off her abs. She had straight men voting for her, gay women swooning over her abs, and Nia had learnt a lot about how attractive some of her community found one of her good friends. That had been hella awkward.

But! She wasn’t as close to Lena as she was to Kara, and there was… something about Lena that….well, didn’t invite objectification, but certainly didn’t shy from it. Supergirl was a symbol, she wasn’t really a person to fawn over, but Lena Luthor… Lena Luthor was real and powerful and an all round badass, and she seemed less innocent and naïve than Supergirl. That wasn’t to say that some of the thirst tweets were appropriate, many of them weren’t, and Nia had to block several of them, but Lena was… somehow deemed a more worthy subject of objectification. Maybe it was because people looked to gods in awe, but Lena was a mere mortal, one of their own, whereas Supergirl was above them. Nia wasn’t sure, but she knew that she definitely should apologise to Lena for getting her involved in the polls. Especially when the lead became painfully obvious.

If the lesbians of National City, and the world, were thirsty for Supergirl, it was nothing compared to how _thirsty_ they were for Lena Luthor. Especially Lena Luthor in her suits. Nia’s next poll would have to feature Lena’s best looks, because (and sorry Lena) that woman could wear a suit, and CatCo’s traffic was at an all time high. Andrea was beyond pleased, though Nia wasn’t sure how happy she was to be ranked far below her friend in the ‘Sexiest CEO’ poll.

A few days later and Lena was still slaughtering her competition in the polls. She wasn’t even trying. All she had to do was go about her business and with every new photo there were re-tweets and likes, and she was well on her way to reaching six figures in votes. She had laughed when she’d been asked about it, saying she was flattered but she didn’t show much interest in internet polls.

The CatCo IT team had warned Nia that some of the competitors had purchased bots to vote for themselves. Nia had to issue a statement in regard to the poll, threatening to remove the candidate from the poll if it was proven. Traffic reports suggested that her threats had been taken to heart, and Morgan Edge had dropped back in the race.

But…. That hadn’t stopped him, or his team, from frantically posting work-out pictures of the businessman in an attempt to get a following or attention. He was mostly just waved off, as he wasn’t all that attractive and had a bit of a dad bod, without the perks of having a cute kid. All play and no work, as one user had commented.

“Nia,” Kara asked, pulling her attention from watching the responses to her poll fly in. “Why are people calling Lena ‘Daddy’?”

Nia nearly choked on her own spit.

Oh, oh, _honey_. Nia stared at Kara, wondering if she had to explain what the women were meaning when they called Lena ‘Daddy.’ It probably had something to do with the suits and her general, I could buy your entire country vibe..

She was distracted by the beeping in her ear and Nia was thankful. She did not want to think about Lena like _that_ , because it led to thinking about Lena and Kara like _that_ , and she was not interested in thinking about them together like _that_ at all.

Her day consisted of piling together the best outfits that the internet had gifted her on Lena Luthor, also resolving to make a poll on the best of Batman’s gadgets, and she was in the middle of collecting pictures and reports of the gadgets when the news cut in.

Nia hadn’t paid all that much attention to what was going on in the background, too invested in her article and the Disney Hits collection playing in her ears through her Spotify, but she paused to see it. The picture that would send Lena Luthor’s votes in the ‘Sexiest CEO’ poll to the stratosphere.

The background was this; a few broken buildings, a car with a massive dent in it, a light post bent and broken. Supergirl lay at Lena Luthor’s feet in a crater, clearly having taken a beating, and the Luthor herself, stood over her with feet planted and with a ‘come and get her’ smirk on her lips. She was also holding a very big gun that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi film.

She was in a Lexo-suit, only hers looked so much better than anything Lex had ever been seen in. It was sleek and slender, fitting to her form in a way that suggested the use of nano-tech. But Lena was a pioneer in nanotech, and her suit had taken a bit of damage, but she was clearly victorious. Her hair had fallen free and was wild around her head, tussled by the wind of the helicopters above her, and her forehead was gleaming with sweat.

After a few moments she straightened and reached down to help Supergirl to her feet. The two shared words, and then Lena was pulling out a… a donut bag from… somewhere…. And smirking at Kara as she pulled a donut from the bag. Supergirl was staring at her with betrayed eyes as Lena slowly, ever so slowly, took a bite of her donut.

After a moment of very slow chewing, Lean offered the donut to Kara, who looked as though she might cry.

With a victorious smile Lena took her donut back and sank her teeth into it, and Nia turned away from the television.

A quick type on her keyboard and she was rewarded with an image she’d not soon forget, nor would the world when it became the cover picture for TIME Magazine’s person of the year. Lena Luthor stood, sweaty from a fight but victorious and protective over Supergirl, with her hair wild and free. She looked like a warrior. She looked like a god. She looked like someone who would change the world.

~*~

“Lena,” Kara whined, and she was looking a little worse for wear, but maybe it was the devastating pout she wore. And if there was ever a time when Supergirl were to be accused of ‘milking it’ it was now, for her lower lip jutted out, her eyes were large and glassy, and there was a crinkle firmly etched in her brow.

“You said a week,” Lena wasn’t budging, arms folded and had a challenging brow lifted.

It was the day after the showdown with the alien that had managed to beat Supergirl to a standstill, helped by kryptonite. Only Lena Luthor’s arrival in a badass suit of armour had saved the hero, and the city, and the entire world knew it.

What they didn’t know was that both women had been taken back to the DEO for medical treatment and were currently playfully fighting over the bet that they had.

Lena was gleefully denying Supergirl’s request to let her out of her bet because she had gotten her ass kicked and was in dire need of comfort food, eg, the food that she wasn’t permitted to have on the terms of their bet. Nia knew that Lena would absolutely allow it if Kara needed the sugar, but since she didn’t and was only trying to get out of it, Lena was staying firm.

“I know.” Kara was sounding a little like an overgrown child, folding her arms and glaring at Lena through her lashes.

Lena wasn’t convinced and gave a little shake of the head. “You still have twenty-seven hours and,” she checked her watch, “forty-three minutes.”

“But I don’t wanna.”

And the world didn’t know that the most powerful hero of Earth, and also the hottest, was an absolute child when it came to not getting what she wanted. That she was a hair's width away from throwing a tantrum.

“Either, you hold on for another day, or,” Lena said, and a packet of skittles materialised in her hand. Usually she kept snacks about her for Kara, which was another thing that made it so obvious that Lena was in love with Kara. CEO’s of Lena’s importance didn’t just keep their best friend's favourite snacks around for no reason, even when they had their lunch-dates. “You eat an entire table of kale…spinach…Brussel sprouts… cucumber…broccoli…..” Lena cooed, and rattled the bag of skittles.

Kara let out a painful groan, and grabbed at the bag, but Lena darted out of the way with a little laugh.

“Yield,” Lena shook the bag again. “Yield and you can have this bag, and as many bags as you want.”

Kara was so clearly tempted and her pout deepened as she stared at the treat.

“Yield and you can eat whatever you want, no more greens, no more vegetables, just pizza and pie and chocolate.”

She took out a few skittles and popped them into her mouth and Kara flopped back on the bed with a groan.

A muffled sound came from beneath her arm and Lena let out a polite hum, shaking the bag a bit more than necessary. “Do I want the red ones or the orange ones?”

Kara repeated her word again and Lena let out a pleased chuckle.

“I didn’t quite hear you, darling,” she grinned. Kara whipped her arm from her mouth to glare at Lena.

“I yield!”

Looking thoroughly pleased with herself Lena tossed the bag at Kara. A few skittles were freed from the confines of the bag as it soared through the air but Supergirl was up and snatching them, sitting happily on the bed with her hand in the bag.

Lena was looking delighted by the turn of events and turned to the camera. “And now you get to watch Supergirl eat an entire table full of greens.”

Kara let out a pained groan but no one had any sympathy for her. She’d brought it on herself, after all. Many people didn’t have access to the highest quality food that could be brought, and certainly didn’t have a nutritionist or chef prepare the meal plan, and it wasn’t that hard to avoid processed foods for a week, but Supergirl hadn’t managed. Her addiction to sugar was too great, and Lena was smug in her victory. So was Nia, pocketing her winnings from the CatCo pool, and used it to buy a cheap head-camera so she could video more interactions between the two.

A few days later and Nia was treated to the vision of Lena Luthor in jeans and an NCU sweater, which she privately thought was Kara’s, while Supergirl looked at the massive spread on Lena’s dining room table.

It was laden with all sorts of greens, vegetables by the dozen. There was even a selection of non-sugary beverages.

Supergirl was looking positively horrified, in fact, she looked as though she’d rather be anywhere but here.

“Hi, National City,” Lena purred and gave a little wave. Supergirl let out a little wail.

“As promised, Supergirl is making good on our bet. She doesn’t get to leave until all of this,” she swept her hand dramatically at the massive buffet that didn’t look like it had even a hint of anything that didn’t come straight from the ground, or a tree. “Is eaten. I know she can do it,” Lena leant forward as though to share a secret with National City.

“I once saw her devour four family share packs from McDonalds, eight large pizzas, six meat and vegetable mix’s from Chong’s Palace, and three scoops of chips covered in cheese and aioli… what’s that called?”

“Cheesy weesy’s,” Supergirl mumbled, looking forlorn and very much like a kicked puppy as she slumped at the head of the table.

Lena was looking very much the victorious Luthor as she wandered up to the table and snagged a carrot stick.

“Open wide!” she sang and Dreamer bit back a giggle. Who would have thought the two most powerful women in the city, and among some of the most powerful in the world, could be so playful?

Most of the feedback Dreamer had gotten from her videos had been overwhelmingly positive, especially the ones featuring both Supergirl and Lena Luthor. A lot of people said it was cute that they were friends, and some speculated there was more to it- little did they know- but almost everyone was surprised at how well the two got along, and they adored their playful ~~flirting~~ , _banter_.

Andrea was happy with her too, or at least with Nia Nal for starting the whole poll thing, and for convincing Dreamer, Supergirl, and Lena to get involved with the videos. It hadn’t been hard, she had sheepishly told her boss, Dreamer had wanted to connect with her fans, and had convinced Supergirl to do it. Getting Lena Luthor had just been a bonus. And maybe Nia would be doing a ‘Fantasy fictional power couple’s, in the future, she was still planning that one out. Didn’t want to make it too obvious what she was up to.

“Come on, Supergirl,” Dreamer cheered and stepped around the table, drawing the viewers eyes up the length of green. Getting used to the odd weight on her head had taken a bit of practice, and she had to tie it over her mask, but she was glad she had it, because she wasn’t able to keep her hand camera in focus all the time, and her go-pro helped.

“It's not Kryptonite, darling,” Lena said from somewhere behind the camera and Supergirl pouted, but the way she was looking at the green pile of kale in front of her cast suspicion on the statement.

“It’s still green,” Supergirl mumbled, but she picked up her knife and fork with determination, before staring down at the vegetables, looking a little green herself.

“Do you have a problem with green things?” Lena replied and butter wouldn’t have melted in her mouth. Nia swung the camera around to Lena, who was smirking at her and gave a little wink before sauntering up to the table with a box of…

Nia couldn’t fight her laugh. Lena, eyes locked on Supergirl, reached into her box and pulled out a single green m n m.

The hero's mouth dropped open, her pout deepening as Lena popped the sweet into her mouth.

“Dreamer, did you want some?” She asked innocently, holding the box out to Nia, but keeping her eyes on the pouting Super.

Nia grinned and bounced over to Lena and peered into the box. Inside was an assortment of candy. M n ms, skittles, gummy bears, you name it, she had it. And they were all green.

Spinning the camera into selfie mode, she placed her head near Lena’s and helped herself to a green snake, grinning all the while.

“I have no problem with this green,” she commented airily, and was rewarded with another wink. Sexiest CEO indeed. There was something utterly charming about Lena when she was dressed down and in the comfort of her own home, but she could turn the heat on within a few seconds, and there was no doubt in Nia’s mind that she was the most powerful in the room.

“You guys are mean,” Supergirl was looking pleadingly at Lena, with the biggest pair of puppy eyes Nia had ever seen, and she knew the internet would Meme-ify the look soon enough.

Still. Supergirl was the Girl of Steel for a reason, and she took a fortifying breath.

Her expressions were comical, exaggerated, and painful to watch, but she slowly placed the kale into her mouth, grimacing the entire time as though it was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

After a few plates, where Supergirl pretended to gag, Lena sauntered around the table and sat nearby, pulling a cup-cake from the box and draping herself over the chair. And the heat that she’d flirted with earlier? Yeah, she dialled that up a lot.

Kara watched her with wide eyes, darting glances at her, at the cup cake that Lena was picking apart slowly, seductively.

Nia nearly choked herself when Lena dipped the tip of her finger into the green icing and slid it into her mouth, and the faux look of innocence she gave Supergirl afterwards was telling.

“That’s it!”

And Supergirl was on her feet, reaching for the cupcake in Lena’s hand.

Lena gave a little squeal and her chair slid back across the carpet as she tried to twist from Supergirl’s reach.

“Gimmie!”

Lena gave another shout, another laugh, and the two were running around the table. As Lena passed her she barked out an instruction. “Don’t let her have the sweets!” And Nia was more than happy to oblige, content to watch the two tear around Lena’s living room.

Lena was trying to eat as much of the cupcake through her giggles as she could, and Supergirl was trying to catch her before she could.

“Gotcha!”

And Supergirl swept Lena into her arms, pinning her hands at her side as she tried to eat her cupcake.

Lena let out a cry of protest. “Hey! No powers!”

The two were a tangle of limbs and then there was a thud and they were on the ground, the cupcake rolling out of reach.

Luthor and Super were on the ground, each trying to stop the other from reaching the cupcake first, and Nia saw her moment.

Darting forward, and she’d slow the camera down later for the viewers, she plucked the cupcake from Lena’s carpet and took a huge bite of it.

There was a moment where both Luthor and Super were frozen, and Nia nearly groaned in delight. “Fis vis sooo good!”

No wonder Kara had given up on her green kick to chase Lena around her living room. The cupcake was amazing!

And then she came back to herself, to the Luthor and Super both glaring at her.

Oops.

“Get her!” Supergirl yelled and then both Luthor and Super were up and it was Nia’s turn to run.

Lena grunted when she ran into her coffee-table and Supergirl spun around to check she was okay, and even Nia paused in the kitchen. It was no fun if someone got hurt.

“I’m fine,” Lena winced, hobbling a little. “Get her!”

Supergirl hesitated and then was a blur, and then Nia was running again, angling her phone over her shoulder as a Super, giving a Luthor a piggy-back, came after her.

“That’s cheating!” She laughed and slid a little on Lena’s kitchen floorboards before stumbling onto the carpet. The cupcake went flying and she stared after it as it hit Lena’s cupboards and slid down the front. Oops.

The box of goodies remained on the table and Supergirl slid, literally slid, to a stop next to it and grinned in delight.

“Yes!”

Lena leant down, still with Kara’s arms around her legs, to pick up the box and hold it aloft.

“Victory!” She cheered and Supergirl gave a little whoop, jostling Lena.

Lena’s little indignant squawk was also something Nia was sure the internet would take advantage of.

“Vic-tor-y! Vic-tor-y! Vic-tor-y!” Supergirl shouted, jogging around the house and Lena cried, “Minerva! Play ‘We are the champions!”

A few moments later and the very familiar Queen song was coming out over the speakers.

Laughing, Kara set Lena down, and wasted no time in helping herself to the treats in the box.

Lena waggled her fingers at Dreamer and Nia darted across the room with a grin to wrap her arms around her friends. Kara was in the middle, grinning as she took a bite of another cupcake and Nia was on her left.

“We are the champions my friend,” she sang happily, and Nia joined in. Lena didn’t though, she didn’t sing, but she was laughing with them.

“I love you guys!” Supergirl said and turned to place a quick kiss on Nia’s cheek, over her mask, and then giving one to Lena. Lena’s one lingered, but Nia would be sure to cut that out later. Didn’t need to out the two of them before they’d sorted their shit out.

Fantasy Power Couple poll was a go!

~*~

The (Super) Power Couple poll started out as, well, it wasn’t a prank, but it was supposed to get Lena and Kara’s heads out of their asses, or from the clouds, and make them realise that they were kinda in love, kinda dating, and kinda driving Nia nuts!

If it wasn’t the weekly sleep-overs (only interrupted when there was a Super emergency), it was the bi-weekly lunch dates that sometimes turned into every single day of the week! Kara was lucky she was able to write so fast, otherwise surely Snapper Carr would comment on her frequent absences from her desk! Nia had struggled with the hero-work balance when she first started, and she’d had help! And didn’t have the burdens that Kara did. Kara was so lucky she only needed half the amount of sleep! Though Nia was sure she made up for it in food, and she really, really didn’t want to know what Kara’s food budget was. A junior reporter's salary only went so far, and Nia wasn’t blind to how, when it was game night, the leftovers had always been given to Kara. A less-than subtle way of keeping her fed.

And that was another thing! Random deliveries of Kara’s favourite foods would just pop up, out of nowhere! It was ridiculous! Food was a love language! It was _Kara’s_ love language! And how she hadn’t realised that Lena was basically wooing her with donuts from Duke and Duchess Donuts, Nia didn’t know! Silly, oblivious alien!

Even Paul, the straighter than an arrow, nearing retired, (or dead, one of the two) political commentator, who’d been around since Cat had first started CatCo, had commented on the deliveries. ‘I see the Danvers girl has a secret admirer. Look at that smile! He seems keen, too!’ And had then fondly reminisced about his days with his wife. He’d been startled to learn the gifts were from Lena and his confusion had been pleasant (bless him), ‘Well, what a nice friend you have! She’s a keeper!’ And if Paul knew, everyone else had to be aware of it. 

Kara waved it off in her usual stumbling, stuttering, blushing, endearing way that ended with the person who had asked feeling sorry for the blonde and pretending the question had never been posed. Still. It was a bet in the pool, just like Supergirl and Lena Luthor being an item.

A downside to the videos humanising the Luthor, and Super, and then the Luthor _and_ the Super, had been that people the world over had seen the easy affection and chemistry between them and had started to ‘ship it.’

Now, that wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that Nia was trying to get Kara and Lena together, not Supergirl and Lena. And yes, she was aware that they were the same person, but not to the public! Supergirl dating Lena Luthor would, well, it would probably break the internet. Certainly more than that woman who had somehow popped a bottle of champagne and had it pour onto a glass on her generously sized booty. Enemies, to allies, to friends, to lovers. God. It would be the greatest love story of all time. But Nia didn’t want Super-Luthor, or, um, LuthorGirl, or LGirl, or SuperCorp. She wanted Karlena! Or Lenara! Actually, Karena wasn’t so bad. If you were careful of your pronunciation, (no, it is not! Karen- and an a!) it could sound like Carina, which was an actual name, and she was pretty sure it meant something sweet in Spanish- but it had been a while, okay?

So, as sweet as the support for Lena and Supergirl was, Nia was more interested in showing the world, and the two oblivious idiots she loved (and who loved each other) that they made a pretty good team and should get together!

Now, she was all about consent. She didn’t want to push either of them into a relationship they weren’t keen on, and she didn’t want to pressure them into anything, or have the world forming an opinion on the two of them before they could properly think it through (but come on! They were already dating, they just didn’t know it yet!) but she was getting tired of the heart eyes. Seriously. Kara needed that emoji pillow over her face every time someone even mentioned Lena’s name, and that was before the food gifts, or before she even saw Lena. Serious, the girl had hearts floating above her head whenever she looked at Lena. It would be sickening if it weren’t so cute.

So, Nia needed to get Kara and Lena to see that they were hopelessly in love, and that they should really get it out of their system, because there was only so much pining she could take!

It started like this.

As winners of their categories, and the other top five of each poll, Supergirl and Lena Luthor were placed on the poll in a tier-based system. Nia made sure to avoid having Superman and Supergirl on the poll on account of their family relation, but she made a point of leaving same-sex couples. That was the entire point of this new poll.

In the end each hero, or CEO as it were, was paired up with a dozen other high-profile celebrities, CEO’s, and heroes. Each bracket would face off against the other until there would be the final two, and then the champion. Nia had enjoyed cross referencing the profiles of each pair and matching them together. A few had obvious chemistry. Batman and Lena Luthor, for one. With Batman’s tech and Lena’s engineering skills, the two would clearly have a lot to talk about. And the Flash had something in common with Miranda Codle, who used to be a police officer before becoming a senator, and liked to run 5k’s on the weekend.

Others had no chemistry at all, and Nia had to scramble for something…compatible to say about them. Writing about Superman and Lena Luthor had been _awkward_ and she had sent Kara an apology cup-cake (and the ones Lena brought were like ten bucks each!). Kara had glared at her over the top of the very, very expensive cup-cake but hadn’t commented. She was clearly jealous and Nia had kept that reaction to herself. 

The one with Supergirl and Lena had been easy to write:

_These two powerful women are at the height of their game and have the enemies, to friends, to lovers trope going for them. Romeo and Juliette anyone?_

Though Kara and Lena held a special place in her heart:

_These two hit it off from their first meeting, and have shared each other's triumphs, becoming fast friends. And who hasn’t been a little in love with their best friend?_

So it wasn’t going to be her speech at their wedding, or her report on the event (covered in CatCo with photographs by James Olsen) but she only had a certain amount of space, okay?!

And so it had begun! A few couples had been instant failures, though she suspected it was because the lack of natural or perceived to be natural chemistry between them, and maybe a touch of ‘no homo’, but others were oddly successful. Kara and Lena, and Supergirl and Lena, were among them. 

As winners of their own polls (Hottest Hero, Sexiest CEO, Cutest CatCo employee (it had been a slow day, and a filler for her next poll, okay? Don’t judge)) and being paired up, they were instantly taken to the quarter final of their bracket. It was like in sports games. Pool play always expected one of the ‘big four’ to come out on top, otherwise what was the point.

In the end it was mostly the heroes facing off against each other, which did make sense. But Kara Danvers made it, likely on account of her ability to get Lena to smile (and Kara had been pensive at the series of photos (evidence) of that).

Superman and Lena Luthor vs Flash and Supergirl

Lena Luthor and Supergirl vs Batman and Green Arrow

Supergirl and Black Lightning vs Green Arrow and BatWoman

Lena Luthor and Kara Davners vs Superman and Black Lightning

Superman and Batman vs WonderWoman and Superman

Batman and WonderWoman vs WonderWoman and Superman

Supergirl and BatWoman vs Flash and Green Arrow

Flash and Superman vs Batman and Supergirl

It was… some of it was obvious and she suspected people had voted just for shits and gigs. A few times there had been trending tags, trying to get their pairing into the next bracket within the time frame. Honestly, even when Supergirl had first come on scene, CatCo didn’t get half as much traffic as it was getting now.

Part of Nia felt guilty for participating in the objectification of people, let alone people she cared about, and she didn’t really think it counted as reporting, but it was fun, and Andrea was very happy with her. So she dealt with it the best she could…. By hosting another poll, this time with cutest celeb baby mash-ups! She had flirted with the idea of posting mash-ups of her power couples, but had quickly realised, when Lena and Supergirl’s, and Kara and Lena’s child turned out almost identical, that it was a bad idea. A quick message to Alex and Brainy was running an algorithm to make sure no one tried to face match Lena and Kara with Kara and Supergirl. A few tweaks were all that was needed, and a bullet was dodged.

Her quarter-final had ended with some surprising brackets, and she was surprised that Kara Danvers had remained in the polls. It wasn’t as though her reporter friend was famous, but it might have had something to do with the pictures that someone (Alex) had shared of Lena and Kara at Game Night. If Nia hadn’t shipped them before, she certainly did now. They way that had been cuddled together had been telling.

The top four ended up being Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers, Supergirl and Lena Luthor, Superman and WonderWoman, and Superman and Batman.

Nia wasn’t sure who was going to win, and she decided to split the two Lena Luthor options up, mostly because she was aiming for a Supergirl and Lena Luthor vs Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor showdown, if only to get Kara and Lena to actually consider the idea.

The semi-final went like this.

Superman and Batman vs Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor.

And:

Supergirl and Lena Luthor vs Superman and WonderWoman.

Nia wasn’t surprised to find the results of the first poll being a resounding win for Batman and Superman, even with the homophobes on both sides. As lovely as Kara and Lena was as an idea, Lena didn’t have enough sway to compete with both Superman and Batman, and Kara Danvers was a nobody, or at least, when compared to the literal super-heroes.

The Supergirl and Lena Luthor poll was closely fought, and to Nia’s surprise, and also pleasure, her two friends bet on Superman and WonderWoman. Apparently the internet liked an enemies to friends to lovers romance, (and she liked to credit the subtle hints she’d laid in their joint profile for the success, but suspected it had something to do with the video she’d posted of Supergirl and Lena Luthor ~~flirting~~ bantering over cupcakes).

The office had placed bets on the outcome, and Nia had willingly parted with a fifty on Supergirl and Lena. The girls had to stick together, after all.

Kara had been bemused and horrified in turn by the polls, especially as she was getting a bit more attention than usual. And to Nia’s eternal gratification, Kara had Googled what Daddy meant.

Her blush had lasted hours, and she had very nearly tossed her computer out the window in order to erase her history.

The entire office was aware of the bet, and Kara had to face a lot of speculating about her love life and she’d blushed and stammered and then basically ran from her problems. It was amusing, though Nia knew that HR was keeping an eye on the situation, and the moment it went too far, Greg would put his foot down. Though privately Nia thought he had money on Supergirl and Lena Luthor as well. His daughter had recently come out to him and he was _trying_ , and trying to be as supportive as a dad could be. He’d even come to Nia to ask her about the community, in a stumbling and awkward way as possible, and she had happily pointed out some resources for him to look into.

Kara’s recent delivery from Lena had been a bouquet of flowers, which would probably cost Nia her weekly rent, as well as a special blue and red delivery from Duke and Duchess Donuts. Miley in accounting, a total gossip and a bit of a bitch, had seen the gift before Kara could and had read it to her fellow busy-body, Tara. By noon, when Kara had returned from a Super long break, the entire office had known what Lena had said.

‘ _Kara,_

_I’m sorry to hear we lost in the poll, Darling._

_You’re still my favourite and my hero. I’ll see you later._

_Love Lena xx’_

It was a little sweet, and certainly added fuel to the fire of Lena and Kara dating, but everyone knew the two were ‘just friends’ even if they silently, like Nia, thought they should date for real! They went out on lunch dates, stayed over at each other's places, shared food (and even the interns were warned never to ever, ever touch Kara’s food), held hands and cuddled on the couch! Nia had even seen Lena kiss Kara’s cheek after their last win at Game Night, and Kara’s blush had been very pretty. They were dating, damn it! Or they would be, if Nia had her way.

To drum up hype, the last tier would last a week, and Nia had plans to hide the results from the public in the last twenty-four hours, provided it was a close one. She wasn’t sure on what the outcome would be. Two power couples. Two cousins facing off, and at their side, a tech genius with their own weapons and talents.

Supergirl would beat Superman, that had already been proven. But Lena vs Batman? In hand to hand, Nia doubted Lena would last long. But, the woman was Lex Luthor’s sister, and if Lex Luthor was a formidable enemy of Superman, then his sister could be just as dangerous. On her own though. Lena tried to help others through her inventions, company, and philanthropy work, not out on the streets with her fists. A tech fight between the two, Batman vs Luthor, would be something Nia would like to see. Maybe she could put out the feelers and see if either of them would be keen on it. Maybe a WWE fight, with the proceeds going to charity or something. Surely Batman couldn’t refuse charity? And Lena would be sold the moment she learnt she could help people, and build some sick tech. It was something for her to ponder as Kara returned to her desk with her gaze on her phone, and her ‘Lena’ smile firmly in place.

Rolling her eyes Nia went back to work. It was too early to deal with Kara’s smitten heart eyes, and she hadn’t had any coffee yet.

The rest of her week went quickly and as the poll hit the twenty-four hour mark, Nia had the CatCo IT hide the results from view. It was telling. The ‘gays’ were out in force. Supergirl and Lena were putting up an admirable fight, but Superman and Batman was ahead, only by thirteen percent, but…. The past few polls had shown that once a pairing had a large lead, it was all over.

Still, she hoped the SuperCorp supporters would come out in full force. She had money to win.

Nia had set the poll to end at five pm on Friday, and had even made sure to schedule her hours so that her over-time didn’t come out of her salary. Andrea had been fine with it and her work-mates had appreciated her bringing them coffee and donuts at eleven the day before, so she was all set.

It had been…. Disappointing to see the result, with Batman and Superman being considered a more powerful couple than Lena Luthor and Supergirl, but Nia had to admit, Lena didn’t really bring much to the table. Not… in terms of power. Sure, she was a billionaire and was stupidly smart, but Batman punched people, fought crime, was a bit more badass than the city's resident philanthropist, so of course he got those votes. And Superman won everything he was in, because he was _Superman_. Still, Nia was disappointed that no one had seen the mad chemistry between Kara and Lena, or rather, Supergirl and Lena.

The total had been 76.3% in favour of Superman and Batman, and that was with the homophobes in the comments. It was nice to have the top couples be same sex and made her hopeful for the future, but that didn’t mean she was happy to have lost her money. Still, it had been enough for her to show Kara and Lena that maybe, just maybe, they should hurry up and date already, because it was driving her bonkers.

She was going to bring it up that night at their next Game Night (conveniently tonight), and she published the final results of the poll, and logged off. She probably wouldn’t be doing another poll, and certainly not one on her friends. Still, it had been an experience she wasn’t likely to forget, and if she had her way, neither would her friends.

Lena was hosting and Nia was the last to arrive.

The wealth in Lena’s apartment was obvious, and there was already cheer and music ahead.

Relaxing, knowing she was about to let-loose, Nia toed off her shoes and stepped into the open area where the night was in full swing. The table was full of food and drinks were on the kitchen island. She couldn’t help herself from snatching a handful of chocolate as she came into the room, and the group hollered a greeting.

J’onn was in discussion with Lena about something while Kelly and Alex were in the kitchen. James had a beer and was chatting with Winn on the sofa, and Brainy was on the floor, a box near him as he was reading through instructions for a boardgame.

Kara was curled up next to Lena, their hands casually linked while she was throwing comments at Brainy, and Nia had to roll her eyes. They were holding hands! Again! They were like this all the time! Together, always together! It was like they were an item without being an item! Where Lena went, Kara wasn't far behind, and their friendship had been punctuated with jokes about ‘the Mrs,’ and ‘the wife’ as though they were actually dating!

That was it!

“What are you doing?!” She growled as she stepped into the room and planted her hands on her hips in a pose similar to Supergirl.

The general cheer in the room faded, though the happy pop song continued in the background.

Huh?” Kara asked, pushing her glasses up her nose with the hand not entwined with Lena’s. They were always so comfortable, so at ease with each other, and you’d have to be blind not to see the connection and demand to know why they weren't dating! 

With all the eyes on her Nia couldn’t help but let out a groan.

“You’re holding hands!”

Kara followed her gaze down to where her hands was linked with Lena’s and a dopey grin crossed her face before she glanced back up.

“So?” She heged, looking a little confused. “Am I- would you rather we didn’t?”

Nia let out a little groan as Lena’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you have a problem with two women holding hands?”

“Argh, that wasn’t what I meant!” She shook her head hurriedly. God, she wasn’t an asshole, and even if she wasn’t, that would make her a hypocrite. She dealt with enough of that shit in her own life to cast it upon anyone else, especially people she loved and who loved her, but this was ridiculous! 

She loved Alex and Kelly, and she was captain of the Karena ship, but god help her these two!

“If you were a CW show, you’d be accused of queer-baiting!”

She glanced around for support, finding only confusion and she threw up her hands.

“Are we not going to talk about this? About them?”

Kara was still looking confused, while Lena looked as though she was coming to some sort of conclusion.

“They hold hands. They cuddle. They spend the night every weekend- were you staying the night tonight?” She demanded of Kara, who nodded, while Lena looked like she’d just figured something out and was finding it amusing.

“They spend the night!”

“Usually in the same bed,” Lena commented and she had her body angled back to Kara and Kara leant into her.

“In the- what?! Argh! How are you not dating?! I set up the entire polls so you’d see you belonged together and you still aren’t dating!”

“Kara shares her food with Lena all the time,” Winn chimed in and then gave a little shrug.

“Thank you!” Nia pointed at him and he gave her a little wave. James was looking a little uncomfortable and Alex was looking at her sister as though she’d never seen her before. Kelly was looking smug.

“You’ve basically been dating since I met you and after the-“ she cut herself off and glanced at Kelly-“ after your fallout, I thought that would be it but… you came back! Stronger than ever! You cuddle, sleep together, share food. Lena sends you presents. Everyone in the office thinks you are dating! You clearly love each other, so why aren’t you together!”

Her mini rant over, she let out a huff and then winced. Maybe she shouldn’t have said all of that, and not in front of everyone. Ideally she should have gone to each of them and asked if they were in love with each other, but it was done now.

“Did you really set up the polls to try and get us to date?” Kara asked bemused, and she’d pulled Lena’s hand into her lap, toying with her fingers with a soft, contented smile.

“Yes,” Nia hissed, anger igniting again. “How can you not see it? Everyone else can!”

There was silence a moment and then Lena spoke, after sharing a glance with Kara, who smiled back at her. It was one of those sickeningly sweet smiles she seemed to only give Lena. Nia pointed at it in evidence. “See! There!”

“Spring or autumn?” Lena asked, turning her powerful gaze on Nia and Nia was so confused. “What?”

“A spring or an autumn wedding?” She repeated throwing a smile at Kara who grinned goofily back at her. “I think spring would suit, but Kara favours fall.”

And Nia was left reeling as Lena slowly lifted her hand from Kara’s lap, Kara chasing it as though not wanting to lose the connection, and offered her hand for inspection.

Nia wasn’t alone in having her jaw pop open.

Between their linked fingers a glinting rock sat. A ring.

Nia was stunned. “You… you’re…”

“Not very subtle,” Lena said with a little laugh and Kara nudged her. Lena turned back in response, pressing her head into Kara’s side in a nuzzle before looking back at Nia. And she looked happy. Truly happy. 

“Engaged, yes,” Lena smiled and Kara beamed at the room.

“Surprise?”

“You’re- you’re-“

“Engaged. Yes, I believe we did just clarify.”

And Nia needed to sit.

There was surprise and then congratulations were being given in a whirlwind of confusion which turned into happiness.

The happy couple, and they were a couple! How did Nia miss that?! Were all smiles and giddiness and Nia knew that when they were all calm, she’d hear the story, but for now she was in shock.

How had she not noticed?!

But, she considered as Lena leant into Kara and Kara’s arm came around her, she had noticed. It had been what had drawn her to the two in the first place, because she had noticed the little, subtle interactions that could be passed off as friends, but combined, added to something else. She just didn’t think they were actually dating.

“Earth to Nia,” Kara teased her gently after a long while and Nia blinked back into the room. Everyone was staring at her and she felt her face heat.

“You’re actually dating? Have been dating this entire time?”

Lena let out a small laugh while Kara nodded and blushed.

“This _whole_ time?”

“I thought you knew?” Lena asked, tilting her head and Nia shook her head. “We cuddle all the time, and we hold hands,” Lena pointed out and Nia frowned.

“I thought you were two dumb straight girls who didn’t realise they were in love with their best friend!” 

Lena’s chuckle was rich and Nia wanted to blush some more. “You even made jokes about ‘saving some food for the Mrs,’ last Game Night. How did you not realise?”

“Did everyone know?”

“Yip!” Kelly answered instantly and Alex frowned at her.

“Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you knew, babe. You always said Kara and Lena this, Kara and Lena that. I just assumed…..”

And now Alex was going red, so maybe Nia’s thought about Alex having a terrible gay-dar was accurate.

None of the boys knew either and were surprised. But, maybe that was because they were men. Still, Nia should have realised.

Kara gave an awkward chuckle. “Well, um. Surprise? Lena and I have been dating this entire time so…. surprise?”

“Clearly we kept the PDA on the down low,” Lena mused and Nia should have been prepared for what came next. Really, when Lena used that tone and that smirk, you knew she was about to pounce.

She spun into Kara, reached up and tugged her mouth down to meet her own. Kara’s squeak was muffled as their mouths met and it was anything but chaste.

Alex groaned and Winn whooped as the kiss continued.

Their kiss left little room for doubt. Especially when Lena finally pulled back and Kara’s facial expression was a little goofy.

Kara mouthed something to Lena and Lena gave her another quick kiss before turning back to the room with a smug smirk as Kara’s arm came around her. They looked like they usually did and Nia had to suppress a groan. Of course they were dating. 

Which meant her poll and all her weeks of work, had been for nothing. Well, not for nothing because it had been fun, but she didn’t need a plan to get Kara and Lena together because they already were.

Huh.

“Say,” she hedged and Lena lifted a brow in her direction. “I don’t suppose you’d like to do another poll?”

Lena’s smile turned mischievous and Kara looked at her fondly, and the devotion was so obvious.

And come morning the entire world knew that Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers were engaged….. and there was a poll on whether or not they should have a spring or fall wedding. 


End file.
